Evening swims beneath an orange sky as the sun sinks into the Indian Ocean, lazy afternoons in the shade sipping a cold drink and swatting away sticky flies and still, balmy nights punctuated by clinking glasses, excited chatter and sizzling meat.

Summer is upon us and what better place to be than in Perth, which comes alive over the next 90 days as West Australians emerge from hibernation and embark on a whirlwind of parties and family gatherings, hit the road for holidays and embrace our sporting and coastal lifestyle.

Whether it’s watching cricket at Optus Stadium, checking out one of the city’s new rooftop bars, cooling off in the turquoise waters of Rottnest Island or taking in an international festival act — we are spoilt for choice this summer.

Boxing Day, long associated with Test cricket, is shaping as the blockbuster sporting day of the summer with tens of thousands of fans set to head to Optus Stadium for the Big Bash League double-header.

WA Cricket Association commercial, marketing and communication general manager Shay Nasta said tickets were selling fast and the game could break the record for the highest-attended cricket match in WA.

“We already know that the passion of Scorchers fans is the best in the country and ticket sales have already surpassed last season’s corresponding match at the WACA Ground,” he said.

“We want to break the WBBL attendance record of 24,547 which was set two seasons ago at the Melbourne Stars-Renegades match.”

The Scorchers will take on the Adelaide Strikers on Boxing Day, in the first regular season match at Optus Stadium this season, followed by the WBBL match against Brisbane Heat.

Camera IconThe official attendance figure is displayed on the screens during the Big Bash League Semi Final match between the Perth Scorchers and the Hobart Hurricanes at Optus Stadium on February 1, 2018 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)Picture: Getty Images

Winner of The Voice, Sam Perry, will entertain the crowd in between matches and there will be a light show.

Pop-up bars are set to be one of the trends of summer, with at least six planned across the city.

The team behind the Embargo pop-up venue is gearing up for its biggest summer yet. After moving around the city’s riverside for the past four summers, they have secured the former premises of Ku De Ta in East Perth and its stunning river views.

Director Jesse Wilson said the new venue would bring together the best of both worlds, with permanent indoor facilities and a great outdoor beer garden, without losing the core atmosphere of what attracts Perth punters to pop-ups bars.

“I think it’s something different,” Wilson said.

“They like being outdoors in pretty, prime spots which is generally where pop-up bars are, but I think we’ve got the prime spot on the river and it’ll be nice.

“The extra things we’ve got here are nicer than when we are just set up in the park, which is why we’ve licensed the jetty too because we don’t want to lose the whole outdoor Embargo feel — it’s going to be the old Embargo but on a rainy day, or a 42C day we’ve also got air-conditioned bars inside as well.”

Doors officially opened on Thursday and Mr Wilson said the venue offered an all-ages attraction with a huge kids’ area featuring a ball pit, chalk-board walls, scrabble, giant Jenga and a bocce green.